The present invention relates to a cargo carrier and sofa extension for a vehicle and particularly relates to a cargo carrier and sofa extension having articulated platforms disposable behind a vehicle seat for conversion, in conjunction with the seat, between, on the one hand, an extended position providing for concealed cargo space below the platforms and a large platform area useful also as a cargo carrier or as a bed, and, on the other hand, a folded or out-of-the-way position providing for maximum storage area behind the seat.
In vehicles, such as vans or the like, there is frequently the need to provide apparatus for converting the vehicle between two modes of use. For example, there is a need in one mode to provide a large platform area useful for reclining or as a bed. In the other mode, substantial seating capacity, as well as cargo carrying or storage capacity is required. Further, it is often desirable to provide a concealed cargo carrying or storage area as a theft deterrent and without substantially reducing the overall cargo carrying or storage capacity within the vehicle.
Efforts directed to solve these often conflicting criteria frequently required apparatus which itself occupies substantial space within the vehicle and reduces the useful storage or cargo carrying space in one or the other of it's useful modes, e.g. as a cargo carrier or as a platform bed. The mechanisms for converting between the two modes are usually cumbersome, awkward, and difficult to operate. Also, the adaptation of the vehicle to accomodate the mechanisms is usually expensive, ill-conceived, and not readily removable from the vehicle.